Delving Deeper into Freak the Mighty

Code of Chivalry:

Activity 1: Kevin showed a great interest in King Arthur. Go to the website below and learn more about him. When you have finished, write a summary of King Arthur, who he was, and what he did.
http://www.caerleon.net/history/arthur/page2.htm
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Activity 2: Go to this website and learn about the Code of Chivalry. Write a second paragraph explaining what it is to help your classmates understand it.
http://landsofridian.com/knights.html
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Activity 3: Read about the virtues listed in the Code of Chivalry at the website below. What is a virtue? Define it, then pick five virtues from the list and give an example from the book where these virtues were displayed.
http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/knights-code-of-chivalry.htm
You guessed it--paste this on your poster board!

Activity 4: After learning more about the Code of Chivalry, make a list of at least 4-5 people besides Kevin who would be at Kevin’s round and why.
http://www.kingarthursknights.com/knights/default.asp
Once again, paste this onto your poster board!

Activity 5: The knights were said to wear an emblem. Learn about the emblem at the website below; then, draw an emblem for Kevin and the knights of his round table. Explain what each piece of the emblem represents.
http://www.kingarthursknights.com/knights/default.asp
Yesseree Bob, paste this on your poster board!



Coat of Arms:

Activity 1: Visit the website below and learn about what a coat of arms is. Write a paragraph explaining what it is and what it stands for.
http://www.historicalnames.com/origins.htm
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Activity 2: You have started to learn about the coat of arms. Visit the websites below and then write a second paragraph discussing the importance of the colors on a coat of arms and what some of the colors stand for.
http://www.fleurdelis.com/meanings.htm
http://www.yourchildlearns.com/heraldry_activityt.htm
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Activity 3: Visit the website below and learn more about the symbols found on different coats of arms. Choose ten symbols; then, list them and what they stand for.
http://www.4crests.com/coatofarsym.html
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Activity 4: Now that you have learned about some of the symbols, pick five symbols that you might represent your school the best. Say what they stand for and why they would represent your school in a well-developed paragraph.
http://www.4crests.com/coatofarsym.html
Once again, paste this onto your poster board!

Activity 5: Now that you have learned more about what a coat of arms is you get to put your knowledge to work. Create a coat of arms for Kevin. Show us what Kevin is about and what he represents. Make sure that you write at least a paragraph explaining what you included and why. Yesseree Bob, paste this on your poster board!


Morquio’s Syndrome

Activity 1: One of the recurring themes from the novel Freak the Mighty, by Rodman Philbrick, is how people can overcome challenges. Freak, has a physical disability, Morquio’s Syndrome, but lives his life to the fullest. What is Morquio’s Syndrome? Take a look at the following websites and make a list of symptoms and complications for this syndrome.
http://www.jacobrandallfoundation.com
http://www.sspa.org.au/conditions.htm
http://www.patient.co.uk/showdoc/40001414/
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001206.htm
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Activity 2: Morquio’s Syndrome eventually stole Kevin’s life. What are the causes of Morquio’s Syndrome? Is there a way to avoid transferring the disease from parent to child? Write at least one well-developed paragraph about your findings.
http://www.mpssociety.org/content/4040/MPS_IV/
http://www.cafamily.org.uk/medicalinformation/additionalmedicalinformation/patternsofinheritance.html
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Activity 3: Kevin did his best to overcome the crippling effects of the disease. What types of things did Kevin do to overcome the disease? Why did he do these things? Take a look at this website for children with chronic illnesses and the types of things they do to overcome what they’ve been through.
http://www.morquio.com/mariasKitchen.htm
http://www.morquio.com/nancySalzer.htm
http://www.lehman.cuny.edu/faculty/jfleitas/bandaides/
How would you feel if you were in their shoes? Write two-four paragraphs about your findings. The first two paragraphs should be about Kevin and how he overcame his illness. The second paragraphs should be about other children and how they’ve overcome/dealt with their illnesses. Make connections between these children and yourself. You guessed it--paste this on your poster board!

Activity 4: Throughout the book, Kevin goes into the medical research building for treatment. What types of treatments are there for children with Morquio’s Syndrome? (MPS IV) How long do the treatments last? Check out these websites for some answers.
http://www.morquiobmrn.com/?gclid=CMqq1NrYhJkCFQ0hDQod7HE3lg
http://www.righthealth.com/topic/Morquio_Syndrome/overview/adam20?fdid=adam_720667ac7833df3595719ee020ad0f12&section=Summary
http://www.mpssociety.org/content/4204/Treatments/
http://www.mpssociety.org/content/4206/Palliative_Care/

Make a list of treatments and how long each treatment lasts. Once again, paste this onto your poster board!

Activity 5: At the end of the story, Max is pretty upset Kevin. What types of support systems are out there for families who have children with Morquio’s Syndrome. What types of things do these support systems do? Make a list of support systems and what each support system does.
http://www.mpssociety.org/content/4006/Family_Support/
http://health.msn.com/support-groups/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100107432
http://bexar.tx.networkofcare.org/aging/library/hwdetail.cfm?hwid=shc29mps&cat=search
Yesseree Bob, paste this on your poster board!

Learning disabilities

Activity 1: One of the recurring themes from the novel Freak the Mighty, by Rodman Philbrick, is how people can overcome challenges. The main character, Max, has a learning disability, but writes his own novel. What exactly is a learning disability?
http://www.ldanatl.org/
http://www.ncld.org/content/view/305/456037/
http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content/learningdis.html#What%20is
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Activity 2: Everyone knows it’s wrong to tease another because of his/her race, religion or culture. So, why is it ok to call someone “retarded” or make fun of the way a person moves? Visit the following sites to learn about how some students feel about having a learning disability.
http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content/learningdis.html
http://www.ldonline.org/kidzone/8891
http://www.ldonline.org/kidzone/15710
http://www.ldonline.org/kidzone/21883
http://www.ldonline.org/kidzone/8946
http://www.ldonline.org/kidzone/inter_act/celebrity_quiz.html
What did you learn by visiting these web pages? Write two well-developed paragraphs about your findings. The first one should answer the questions at the beginning of the activity, the second one should be a reflection of what you learned. Put this on your poster board too!

Activity 3: People with learning disabilities often need some assistance. Explain the different types of learning disabilities and how they affected Max and others in his life.
http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content/learningdis.html#What%20are
http://learningdisabilities.about.com/od/whatisld/a/whatissld.htm
http://learningdisabilities.about.com/od/learningdisabilitybasics/u/TypesofLearningDisabilities.htm
http://www.ldanatl.org/
Write two-three well-developed paragraphs about the different types of learning disabilities. You guessed it--paste this on your poster board!

Activity 4: Explain what can be done to compensate for any of these disabilities.
http://www.essortment.com/family/educationalacti_snyc.htm
http://www.ncld.org/content/view/306/377/
http://www.ncld.org/content/view/309/456050/
http://www.ncld.org/content/view/307/378/

How would Max’s life have been different if he had outside intervention? Once again, paste this onto your poster board!

Activity 5: Pretend you are a fourth grade teacher teaching your students how to write a short story. What would your directions be for the majority of the class? How would you modify them for a student with a learning disability? Why would you change these parts of the directions? Share both your original lesson and your modified lesson so others can see the modifications. Yesseree Bob, paste this on your poster board!

Bullying

Activity 1: Bullying is a major issue that is tackled within this novel. What is your definition of bullying? List four examples of bullying from the novel. List at least four ways that Max and Kevin dealt with bullying. Paste all of this on your poster board!

Activity 2: Go to the following websites on bullying. Tell me in a well-developed paragraph what bullying is, why kids bully others, and signs that you may be a bully.
http://kidshealth.org/kid/feeling/emotion/bullies.html
http://www.education.com/reference/article/why-do-kids-bully/
http://stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov/index.asp?area=main
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Activity 3: Freak handled bullies in his own unique way, but not everybody is good at handling bullies. What are the consequences of bullying? Write two well-developed paragraph on the consequences of bullying. Focus the one paragraph on the bully and the other paragraph on the victim.
http://stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov/index.asp?area=effects
http://www.education.com/reference/article/long-term-effects-bullying/
http://pathwayscourses.samhsa.gov/bully/bully_1_pg5.htm
You guessed it--paste this on your poster board!

Activity 4:We are all victims of bullying at one point or another. What you can do if you are bullied or if you witness bullying? Go to the following website to find the answers. Tell me at least 10 things you can do to stop bullying.
http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/friends/bullies/
http://stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov/index.asp?area=whatyoucando
Once again, paste this onto your poster board!

Activity 5: Now that you have researched bullying, looked at how it affects others, and learned ways to handle it, pretend that you are a Guidance Counselor and create an informational flyer about it. Your flyer needs to contain the following information:
~~~the definition of bullying
~~~effects of bullying
~~~ways to handle bullying
~~~at lease three websites with short descriptions on why the sites are worth visiting
~~~appropriate graphics
Yesseree Bob, you guessed it, paste this on your poster board!